Munson: Iowa's trivia king is archive of information

Nov. 11, 2010

Fred Stark, Iowa's reigning king of state trivia, looks over the giant map of Iowa he uses in his presentations across the state. He crisscrosses Iowa to share his wealth of information with civic groups. / Kyle Munson/The Register

"I think it's great," Stark's accommodating wife of 46 years, Nancy, said of her husband's hodgepodge Iowa archives. "We just need to live in a much bigger place."

Such is the humble castle of Iowa's trivia king. Good thing the couple's two kids have long since moved out.

Stark has been researching for 47 years, since shortly before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

So it's only appropriate that he serves as the quizmaster and sole judge today for "Van & Bonnie's All-Iowa Trivia Bee" at the Iowa Hall of Pride in downtown Des Moines.

The bee opens at 5 a.m., with the first round of written questions at 6 a.m. As many as 100 competitors will be winnowed to 10 finalists to be quizzed live on WHO-AM 1040.

Stark authored most of the questions and said that he specializes in "things you will not find in Google - at least not yet."

For decades, Stark has combed through the pages of this newspaper, local weeklies, self-published booklets, county museum exhibits and chambers of commerce pamphlets.

He browses major used book sales, such as the Planned Parenthood's sale each September in Des Moines and the Cedar Rapids Public Library's sale every October.

Basically, Stark pulls threads from journalism's first rough draft of Iowa history and tries to weave them into a comprehensive tapestry.

"Fred is Mr. Trivia, for sure," said friend Al Brotherton of Muscatine. "Between the two of us we have a staggering amount of really useless information."

Brotherton, 68, is a fellow trombonist in the Washington Municipal Band who accompanies Stark on "industrial archaeology" expeditions around Iowa and the Midwest in which they trace abandoned railroad lines through the stubble of farm fields in early spring or late fall.

No, Stark isn't some casual armchair historian.

In retirement he also has been crisscrossing Iowa to speak to civic groups. His presentations tend to be titled something along the lines of "What You Didn't Know About Iowa." (Stark's next gig will be on Nov. 23 in Burlington for the local historical society.)

For Stark, talking trivia is "like an emotional high."

"I come to life," he said with a grin and a gleam in his eye.

A little biographical trivia on Stark: He grew up in Elmhurst, Ill., but his mother originally hailed from Reinbeck. His father, William, worked for the Raymond Lowe design firm in Chicago and devised iconic corporate logos: Co-op, International Harvester, TWA, UPS, etc.

Stark probably would have ended up a history teacher if he hadn't strayed into music. He graduated from Wartburg College in Waverly, then directed bands for 10 years in Mount Ayr and 28 years in Washington.

To cap my visit, Iowa's trivia king took me on a guided tour of Washington. We hopped into his big Buick and waved as we rolled past the pedestrians in his ward. Stark is serving his third term on the Washington City Council.

But, of course, it's never just a routine drive with the trivia king. Suddenly you learn, for instance, that you're rolling down Washington's oldest paved street, dating to 1934.

Stark realizes he should publish his own book to establish his Iowa trivia authority. It's on his list. He previously co-wrote an extensive illustrated history of the Chicago Aurora and Elgin railroad that was published in 1999 after nine years of work.

Not that a book would end his restless quest. Just like a daily newspaper journalist, Stark remains open to constant revision as new information flows in.

It's gotten to the point where Iowans around the state send him notes and clippings for his bursting archives.

"There's always a surprise somewhere along the line," Stark said.

Yeah, that's kind of how I felt when I met the guy.

Kyle Munson can be reached at (515) 284-8124 or kmunson@dmreg.com. Connect with him on Facebook (Kyle Munson's Iowa), Twitter (@KyleMunson) and his blog (DesMoinesRegister.com/KyleMunson).